


Trangression (3/4)

by In_Arcadia_IO



Series: Transgression [3]
Category: LOTR RPS AU
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:26:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4661439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_Arcadia_IO/pseuds/In_Arcadia_IO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orlando Bloom deals with rare antiques, Liv Tyler runs a detective agency. Both make unexpected discoveries. Inspired by the depiction of faeries in <i>Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell</i> by Susanna Clarke</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trangression (3/4)

Over the phone Liv hears the man light a cigarette. He inhales deeply before he continues.

"The housemaids said he left his room less and less. They complained about him because every morning they found burnt-down candles in the room. On the tables, on the bed stand, on the marble board above the fireplace. Some were even arrangaed around the tub in the bathroom. More than once they asked him not to light candles any more. The furniture in this place is quite old, you see, hardwood floors, lots of antiques. They were afraid everything would go up in flames. But Orlando always tipped them nicely. And Orlando could be, I mean, he can be so charming. Nobody can ever deny him anything."

"Did the hotel personnel notice anything else?"

"Well, like I said before, they noticed he didn't leave his room any more. But that's not forbidden. And the room was paid for another two weeks in advance. So there was no reason to … suspect anything. They assumed that he was just very busy. Whenever the room service entered, he was reading or looking up things on his computer."

"When exactly did your cousin disappear?"

"The day before yesterday, last Thursday. Or maybe earlier."

"Could you try to be more precise?"

"He was last seen on Wednesday evening when the room service brought him his supper. The next morning, the housemaid knocked several times, but nobody opened. Around 5 p.m. on Thursday, they decided to ignore the "Do not disturb" note on the doorknob. That was when they discovered that the room was empty. Orlando's personal belongings were still there. Clothes, books, laptop. But he was gone."

"Couldn't he have just gone out for, let's say, a walk?"

"Sure, only nobody saw him leave the hotel, neither the lady at the reception, nor the bellboy at the entrance."

"He might have sneaked out while nobody paid attention."

"But why? Why should he have checked out without informing anyone?"

"The hotel employees told me he wasn't in his room alone from Wednesday to Thursday night."

"You already talked to the people at the hotel?"

"Sure, I always do my homework, Mr. Copeland."

"Please call me Sebastian."

"Thank you, Sebastian. I'm Liv."

"So what, what did they tell you? Why do they believe that he wasn't alone that night?"

"They said the bed looked like someone had sex in it."

Sebastian clears his throat. "Did they see someone with Orlando? Did someone come out of his room?"

"No, whoever it was, the person must have been very discreet."

"Crumpled sheets don’t mean anything at all."

"True. And we can't be sure he had sex. But qe know that he had dinner with someone."

"What?"

"Quite simple, there were two used wine glasses, two plates with half-eaten sandwiches, used napkins, used cutlery etc."

"I see."

"Too bad I can't have the plates or the glasses examined. Or the sheets. This way, we could have positively established that there your cousin hadn't been alone. We could have even identified the DNA of your cousin's guest."

"Wouldn't that have been the police's job," Sebastian remarked dryly. He snorted in disgust. "A man's missing, but there's no corpse, nothing was stolen. Why should they look deeper into this? Stuff like that happens every day. Apropos stolen, what about the book?"

"Which book?"

"Orlando recently purchased an expensive first edition of what he thought was a 18th century work. He had hoped to sell it really well. I wonder if the book was still in the room along with the rest of his belongings."

Liv draws a circle around the word book , followed by a few exclamation marks.

"It mustn't mean much, if the book's missing. He could have taken it with him. On the other hand, if someone had known about it and how valuable the book was … Well, that could be a motive…"

"You mean to kill someone?" Sebastian's voice sounds strained.

****

Places can have a soul, a certain aura sensitive people pick up easily. So when Liv enters the hotel lobby soon after, she concentrates not only on what she sees, but also on what she feels.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary, however. It's a quiet hotel, lavishly decorated, chandeliers and pseudo Baroque furniture. People from fashion and music love places like that.

The manager quickly assures her that they'll do everything to cooperate. It goes without saying that they don't want to see the hotel's name in the headlines.

"Bad press can quickly ruin a place's reputation, you know? So provided you conduct your investigations with a certain amount of discretion, we'll do everything to assist you. Here, have the key to Mr.Bloom's room. Take all the time you need."

****

_The sun rises. The sun sets again. And in between there are unknown stretches of time. How many days have passed since you brought me over? I don't know. And I don't want to know. The only thing that really matters is that I'm here. With you._

****

Liv checks the messages on her cell when the lift doors close on her.

Suddenly, the lift stops and the lights start to flicker. Liv groans. Nooooo. Being trapped in a lift is the last thing she needs right now. She looks around for an emergency button. Nothing. The walls of the lift are covered with mirrors, almost like in hall of mirrors on a fairground. In the feeble light, her own reflection looks back at her from the twilight, a pale face and huge eyes.

"I know who you're looking for," says a man's voice.

Liv flinches. Where did that voice come from? Is there a loudspeaker somewhere? It's as if the voice has come from directly behind her, but there's no one there.

"And I know you. You remember me?"

Liv leans back, her hands searching for something to hold on to. The air in the lift's sticky. She presses a hand flat on her sternum, instructing herself to breathe calmly. Nevertheless, she suddenly feels uneasy. Shaky. There is something lurking at the back of her mind. Something she can't quite explain.

"Keep trying to remember," the voice says and it's as if something touches her face very gently. "You were such a beautiful child …"

Liv's heart's beating madly now. Where is the door? Where is the button to open it?

"You weren't afraid then."

Liv takes a deep breath. "I hate such pranks. You're wrong if you think you can bully me to make me quit my investigations. Stop this and let me out."

"Liv, this may seem absurd to you. But it's no trick. Look into the mirror."

For a short moment it feels as if the ground is giving out from under her. She no longer looks at her own reflection. Instead a room seems to be opening in front of her. Stone floors and an old fireplace. Liv gasps. In front of the fireplace stands a man with shoulder-length, sandy hair. He's wearing contemporary clothes, black trousers and an immaculate white shirt. The first two buttons are open. 

"Why are you staring?" the man asks, with a smile in his voice. "D'you think these clothes look ridiculous on me? Oh, I agree, fashion these days leaves a lot to be desired, but I thought you might like it."

Clutching at the railing behind her back, Liv slowly shakes her head. "Who are you?"

"Close your eyes, Liv, and think back in time."

And there it is again; behind closed eyelids Liv sees the empty room in the old cottage. The timber floorboards are warm under her feet and the quiet wraps itself around her like a soft blanket. The room lies half in darkness as the shutters are closed, but through a hole in the roof a ray of golden light comes down on her. Dust particles and small insects from the nearby woods are dancing upwards in this spiral of light.

"You were there," Liv whispers. "All the time you were there with me."

"Yes," answers the man quietly. "But you were only a child then. I'd never touch a child."

"The stranger's presence is looming in front of her now. A finger ghosts over the side of her face, runs down the side of her neck and down the neckline of her blouse.

"That was then, but this is now. And now I want to touch you."

Liv feels the stranger's breath on her face. She still has her eyes closed as if she could will him away this way. Desperately clutching onto the railing behind her back, she feels the panic rising. What is this? Why can't she move all of a sudden?

"Let me go," she says very quietly. "I don't want that."

"Look at me," says the man, stepping back. "Is it so dreadful what you see?"

He leans back against the mirrored wall with his arms crossed behind him. Watching. Waiting. 

Liv feels calmer. She lets go of the railing. "Let me go, now."

"I thought you came here to find someone?"

"What do you know about Orlando Bloom?"

A small smile curls around the man's lips. "I know everything about him."

"Where is he?"

The stranger shrugs his shoulders. "I'm afraid you'll never find out." He turns around to walk back into the imaginary room with the fireplace.

"Wait," she says quickly. "Don't go."

"Why should I stay? This would only be a waste of time. And while I have all the time in the world at my disposal, the same thing can't be said about you. Such a pity, my pretty Liv." He bows before her in a mock-formal way. "Though it was a pleasure to see you again."

"No, wait, please." Hastily, she reaches out, takes his hand and brings it up to her neck. "You said you wanted to touch me …"

The stranger looks at her intently. There is no warmth in his green-grey eyes. "Don't tempt me. You can't control me."

"But I am a woman."

Laughing, the man throws back his head. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Forgive me my amusement, but I remember times when women weren't even conceded to have a soul."

Smiling, Liv starts to open her blouse, one button after the other. "What about your soul?"

The man shakes his head. "Who would have thought that you're so cunning?" Swiftly he grabs her around the hip and pulls her towards him.

"And who would have thought that you're so predictable," she says, her eyelids growing heavy again as he kisses her neck wetly.

"I'll make you pay for that," he replies heatedly. And then his hands are on her, cupping her breasts. Liv's breath speeds up as she presses herself against him, feeling his desire heavy between her thighs.

"You must be manipulating me somehow." Liv murmurs. "I can't want this."

"Manipulating – what kind of language is that? I remember people using terms like "enchanted" or "entranced" – doesn't that sound so much nicer?"

He pushes up her bra. "Just say no."

But instead of waiting for an answer he licks first one nipple, then the other, letting his tongue dance over and round and around the sensitive skin. Liv feels that she's growing weak.

"Damn you."

The man chuckles quietly as his hand sneaks under her skirt and into her panties. "You'd be surprised how predictable you are. You're getting wet already."

Liv moans when his fingers part her. It's only too true. Breathlessly, she rubs up to him, rides his fingers. Yes, she is wet.

"You need more now, don't you?"

Liv can only nod. "Yes."

"Turn around."

Although a tiny part of her mind can only wonder at how quickly this happens, she obeys. Like in a trance she steps out of her panties.

"Now lift your skirt for me."

Liv feels the blood rushing to her checks, as she slowly bends over. How can she be so shameless? Presenting herself like this to this … man or whatever he is.

She hears a zipper drawn and then his hands are on her arse, pulling her cheeks apart. Hotvelvetsilky steel between her thighs. His cock's brushing against her lips. Back and forth, back and forth, but not quite inside yet. She could come from this alone.

"Who would have thought that you are this eager?" the man taunts her. "But there's no need for hurry. We have so much time, my lovely. Yet for my taste you've still got too much clothing on you. Let's take this on to somewhere else."

He picks her up and carries her to some other place. Maybe it's the room she's seen before. In here, the air smells different. His steps echo as if was walking over a stone floor.

She finds herself on a bed and in no time she's naked. And then he spreads her legs and parts her with his tongue, licks her until she's writhing on the bed. His hands are on her arse, lifting her up to him. Clenching onto the sheets, she feels as if she's melting away. But still it's not enough …

The emptiness between her legs feels unbearable. "I need …, she gasps.

"What do you need?" He crawls over her until his thick cock touches her trembling lips. But he doesn't let her suck him, instead he bends over and kisses her on the mouth fully. She tastes herself on his tongue, what a peculiar taste.

Then his weight is upon her again, and his cock brushes against her clit. Liv opens her eyes; she wants to see his face when he slides into her. And just then, for the tiny fraction of a second she looks over his shoulder and sees that they're not alone in the room.


End file.
